Capturing the spirit and psyche of the world's greatest city.
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Sunday, February 3, 2013

Ed Koch RIP

The 105th Mayor of NYC died on February 1st of heart failure at age 88.

Ed Koch was mayor when I was a kid, the first that I remember, and at the time it seemed like he always was -- and always would be -- mayor. After it left office, it felt like he still was mayor, always appearing on TV and radio, giving his voluminous opinions.

Koch was a larger than life figure. He is credited with saving the city from fiscal calamity when he took office in 1978, and he piloted the city throughout the 1980s before losing his bid for a fourth term in 1989. He had a mixed legacy -- good fiscal management, much needed housing projects, along with ignoring the AIDS crises and vast corruption within his administration. But he lifted the city's spirits at a tough time for the city and continued to do so in the nearly quarter century after he left the mayoralty.